The 28 year old is out of contract in the summer and may well feel his future lies away from the Etihad Stadium as he continues to struggle to cement his place in the club’s starting eleven.

Milner has started eight of Man City’s 17 Premier League fixtures and has on the whole played something of a limited role since joining the club in August 2010.

Arsene Wenger would no doubt dearly love to land Milner on a free transfer and thereby reversing the trend of losing his star players to the Premier League title holders.

Arsenal could well do with extra strength in depth and the fact that Milner can play effectively in a number of roles will no doubt lead to a great deal of interest in his services should City fail to persuade the former Leeds United, Aston Villa and Newcastle United man to sign a new deal.